A growing body of evidence demonstrates that patients who are more actively involved in their health care have better outcomes and incur lower medical costs. This finding is motivating health care organizations to better inform patients about their conditions and care choices, so they can be more fully involved in maintaining their health and making decisions about their care.

Topics covered in this brief include:

What’s the issue? The brief describes what patient engagement and patient activation are and why they matter. It also describes various components of patient engagement, such as shared decision making.

Policy implications. The Affordable Care Act identifies patient engagement as an integral component of quality, and is reflected in several sections of that law.

What’s next? There is wide agreement among experts that more research is needed to identify best practices and demonstrate more definitively the links between patient engagement and cost savings. There are also many barriers to patient engagement that need to be address, such as insufficient provider training, lack of incentives, time constraints, and better measurement tools.

About Health Policy Briefs

Health Policy Briefs are produced by Health Affairs with ongoing support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This policy brief on patient engagement is also supported by a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

The Briefs are aimed at policy makers, congressional staffers, and others who need short, jargon-free explanations of health policy basics. The Briefs, which are reviewed by experts in the field, include competing arguments on policy proposals and the relevant research supporting each perspective.

1 Response to “Health Policy Brief: Patient Engagement”

It is always good when patients are involved in their care. Patient engagement opens up lines of communication between the staff and the patient. The patient gains a better knowledge of their disease process and this engagement decreases fewer hospitalizations.

February 23rd, 2013 at 2:59 pm

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